Cold & flu Natural Home Treatments

 With no cure in sight for the cold or the flu, over-the-counter treatments can at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. Or you can take the natural approach. some home remedies that may help you feel better along the way:-

Blow Your Nose Often -- and the Right Way

It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard, pressure can cause an earache. The best way to blow your nose: Press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other. Wash your hands after blowing your nose.

Gargle

Gargling can moisten a sore throat and bring temporary relief. Try a teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water, four times daily. To reduce the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle -- such as tea that contains tannin -- to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick, viscous gargle made with honey or a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar, a popular folk remedy. Steep one tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot water and mix in one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before gargling. Honey should never be given to children less than 1 year old.

make your own salt water rinse to irrigate your nose. Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe:

Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water. Fill a bulb syringe with this mixture (or use a Neti pot, available at most health foods stores). Lean your head over a basin, and using the bulb syringe, gently squirt the salt water into your nose. Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, and then treat the other nostril.

Video in Telugu:-

  

To avoid exposing yourself to other bacteria and infections, it's important to watch what you put in your nose. According to the CDC, if you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

Inhale steam with few drops of eucalyptus and/or Take a Steamy Shower

Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you're dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair nearby and take a sponge bath.Inhale steam to ease your congestion and drippy nose. Hold your head over a pot of boiling water and breathe through your nose. Be careful. If the steam burns your nose, breathe in more slowly. You can buy a humidifier, but the steam will be the same as the water on the stove. Moisture from a hot shower with the door closed, saline nasal spray, or a room humidifier is just as helpful to ease congestion.

Apply Hot or Cold Packs Around Your Congested Sinuses

Either temperature may help you feel more comfortable. You can buy reusable hot or cold packs at a drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 55 seconds in a microwave (test the temperature first to make sure it's not scalding). Or take a small bag of frozen peas to use as a cold pack.

Stay Rested

Resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a blanket. There's no point adding stress to your already stressed-out upper respiratory system, and that's what the change in air pressure will do. Flying with cold or flu congestion can hurt your eardrums as a result of pressure changes during takeoff and landing. If you must fly, use a decongestant and carry a nasal spray with you to use just before takeoff and landing. Chewing gum and swallowing frequently can also help relieve pressure.
Remember, serious conditions can masquerade as the common cold and a mild infection can evolve into something more serious. If you have severe symptoms or are feeling sicker with each passing day, see a doctor.

Sleep With an Extra Pillow Under Your Head

This will help with the drainage of nasal passages.If the angle is too awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box springs to create a more gradual slope.

AROMATHERAPY SOAKS

Eucalyptus Essential Oil is commonly used in aromatherapy due to its antiseptic properties (it has been shown to kill bacteria). When inhaled, it also acts as an expectorant to loosen phlegm that typically accompanies the cold and flu. It is also used in pain relief, so it makes a great bath oil to relieve cold or flu body aches. The 100% Pure Eucalyptus Cold & Flu Relief Vapor Bath is an ideal natural cold and flu remedy. It comes in a 4 ounce amber glass bottle. A little goes a long way, so one bottle will last you for quite some time.

Wear wet socks to bed. Believe it or not, this soggy strategy can help ease a fever and clear congestion by drawing blood to the feet, which dramatically increases blood circulation. (Blood stagnates in areas of greatest congestion.) Best method: Warm your feet in hot water. Then soak a thin pair of cotton socks in cold water, wring them out and slip them on just before going to bed. Put a pair of dry wool socks over the wet ones. The wet socks should be warm and dry in the morning, and you should feel markedly better.

                               Diet for Cold Remedy

Drink Hot Liquids

Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, help prevent dehydration, and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat. Drink plenty of fluids to help break up your congestion. Drinking water or juice will prevent dehydration and keep your throat moist. You should drink at least 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water daily. Include fluids such as water, sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. Your mother's chicken soup might help too! (Limit cola, coffee, and other drinks with caffeine because it acts like a diuretic and may dehydrate you.)

Mullein tea for coughs and congestion

Mullein tea is well-known for relieving chest congestion from coughs, colds and the flu. It acts as an expectorant, loosening trapped mucous and soothing sore throats. Make mullein tea by filling a tea ball or strainer with dried mullein herb and steeping in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes. Sweeten with raw honey and drink as needed to relieve symptoms.

Green tea its known to have many properties that can help keep you in tip-top health – and therefore better prepared to ward off cold and flu bugs. The jury is out on how many cups of tea are optimal, but 2-3 per day are often recommended. If you do come down with cold or flu symptoms (or feel them coming on), consider 3-4 cups of green tea per day to expedite ridding your body of those nasty bugs and give your body’s defenses an extra jolt.

Peppermint tea is laced with nutrients that help the body fight off illness. It also can act as an expectorant, helping the body to cough up mucous. 

Garlic tea

A well-known immune system strengthener, garlic shines as an antibacterial and antiviral herb for fighting colds, coughs and the flu. One of the best ways to take advantage of garlic's healing properties is by drinking fresh garlic tea. Sweetened with a little raw honey, it's delicious and helps to heal what ails you. Peel 2 to 3 cloves of fresh garlic and lightly crush them with the side of a wide knife blade. Add them to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Strain the garlic and allow the tea to cool to mouth temperature. Add raw honey, a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Drink as much as desired.


Ginger’s health benefits have long been touted. Steep several slices of fresh ginger root in hot water and sip for an extra health boost or to soothe a cough or scratchy throat. Eating ginger raw or drinking ginger tea are both popular natural home remedies that are known to help treat the symptoms of a common cold. Take about ten grams of ginger and cut it up into small pieces before boiling it in a cup of water, and then have your child drink the mixture at least two times a day.

 Honey is known to bolster the immune system. A daily dose of honey can help you to feel energetic and stay healthy. It also has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties; if you do develop a sore or scratchy throat, honey will soothe and help heal. Use it in your tea, coffee, plain hot water or by itself. You can even gargle with honey (and lemon) in salt water when the mixture is at room temperature. (Do not give honey to children under 1 year of age.)

Red onion and raw honey cough syrup

A wonderful home remedy for adults or kids suffering from a cough uses brown cane sugar, raw honey or stevia and red onions to make a soothing and tasty cough syrup. Wash, peel and slice the entire onion horizontally. Starting with the base of the onion, layer the slices in a bowl alternating with layers of raw honey or brown sugar. Stevia powder works well for this home remedy too; however, it is extremely sweet. Continue adding layers of onion and sweetener until the entire onion is reconstructed in the bowl. Cover and allow the sweetened onion to remain in the bowl on your counter for about 12-15 hours or overnight. The next day, there will be about a cup or more of sweet syrup in the bowl. The cough syrup contains a range of nutrients, vitamins and minerals from the onion and the honey to help fight infection and soothe sore throats and quiet a cough. Take a spoonful as needed. Has no onion-y taste.

PEPPER

If your child has a runny or stuffed up nose, eating pepper with a meal, gargling pepper in hot water, or even simply smelling pepper can help break apart any congestion in your child’s lungs or sinuses. Pepper can help break up congestion effectively thanks to its capsaicin components which are known to thin mucus, and they are also effective in helping getting rid of the germs in the nasal passages as well.

Lemons are loaded with vitamin C, which is known to support the body’s natural defenses. Lemon (and lime) juice is reported to decrease the strength of the cold and flu virus in the body and reduce phlegm. Add lemon juice to your tea or make hot or cold lemonade with honey to stay well, build resistance to cold and flu, and speed up healing if you do succumb. 

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is known to help ease the pain of a dry or sore throat, and it is praised by “naturalists” because of its effective healing properties. You can try boiling one teaspoon of powdered cinnamon in a glass of water, and then mixing it with some pepper powder and honey for extra effect. Or you can also give your child two to three drops of cinnamon oil by applying it to their food or drink.

 Garlic may be known to ward off vampires, but it can also ward off colds and flu. Garlic contains the immune-boosting compound allicin, also know to relieve cold and flu symptoms. Chop or crush 1-2 gloves of fresh garlic and “steep” them in hot water; then, drink it like a tea. This may also help others keep their distance from you (unless they’re attracted to the smell of garlic), preventing further spread of the virus (wink, wink).

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is one of the most effective natural remedies in treating a cold because it increases the production of white blood cells, and can also help prevent the multiplication of viruses while reducing mucus and inflammation in the nasal passageways.
You can take vitamin C in a pill form, but other foods that are surprisingly packed full of vitamin C include oranges, cauliflower, lemons, broccoli, strawberries, cabbage, peaches, kiwi, tomatoes, and parsley.

Video (Tamil):-

Video (English):-